


Friends in Low Places

by Faustess



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Art, Artist Tony Stark, Artist/Muse, Artists, Banter, Bartender Tony Stark, Bartenders, Bucky Barnes Flirts, Bucky Barnes Goes to Therapy, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Flirting, Getting Together, Holding Hands, M/M, Muse Bucky Barnes, Nicknames, POV Bucky Barnes, POV Tony Stark, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Pre-Slash, Sculpture, Swearing, Therapy, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Flirts, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 09:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21925570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faustess/pseuds/Faustess
Summary: Bucky Barnes is back from his tour of service overseas and is doing his best to fit back into a civilian life and hitting a few bumps along the way.  Good thing his bartender friend doesn't pressure him into buying drinks - and is super cute and always happy to see him.Tony Stark has gone back to college at Rhodey's suggestion to take art classes and though he doesn't need the money, has decided that tending bar is a good way to interact with people, but not have the obligation for trying to make friends with everyone.  His favorite regular stopped ordering drinks and just orders food now, but that doesn't stop either of them from enjoying the company.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Sam Wilson, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 20
Kudos: 161
Collections: 2019 WinterIron_Holiday_Exchange





	Friends in Low Places

**Author's Note:**

  * For [halfwheeze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwheeze/gifts).



Tony leaned over the bar trying to hear the orders of half a dozen sorority girls talking over each other. There was no way they’d be staying very long, though. Wrong kind of music, wrong kind of vibe – and a lack of dude-bros drinking Corona and doing tequila shots – would send them on their way again after a drink, two at most.

Shouting over the din of the indie band warming up and the general buzz of conversation, Tony shouted, “So Long Islands all around?”

The girls looked at each other, conferring for a moment, then nodded. Tony mixed and poured. This was a neighborhood bar – not really a student hangout.

Like clockwork, though, Tony’s favorite patron came in at nine o’clock. “Hey Buckalicious! How was your day?”

The tall brunette shouldered past a few people hovering near the bar to sit down at one of the unoccupied stools. “Still here… Nah, shouldn’t start out that way…. Not bad, I guess? Some lady at the garage asked me if I’d lower her bill if she put out.”

Tony snickered and started pouring the Long Island iced teas for the sorority girls, “What did you say?”

Bucky grinned, “I thought of a bunch of things I could’ve said instead – like ‘Ha! Joke’s on you!’ but what I actually said was, ‘I think the fuck not!’”

Tony laughed as hard as he could while still keep his hands steady enough to pour. “Please, please tell me there’s video of that – or audio! Tell Sam I’ll pay him for it and die happy.”

“Don’t know about any recordings…. It was a good thing Sam was standing right there, though. He heard the whole thing and asked her to pay and leave or as my employer he’d have to file sexual harassment charges against her,” Bucky said.

Tony started handing out the glasses, “All right, am I starting a tab for you ladies? No? Okay, I’ll cash you out then.”

The young women drifted away after they got their drinks and Tony turned back to Bucky. “Tell Sam I’ll give him a wet smacky kiss next time I see him.”

Bucky huffed a laugh, “Nope – or I’ll be the one out on my ass for harassment. Kitchen still open?”

“For another hour, same as always, sweetheart,” Tony confirmed and leaned on the bar. “Want your usual?”

“Nah, tonight I think I’ll have the smothered fries,” Bucky stared at the beers on tap. “And a Coke.”

“Extra jalapeños?” Tony asked, writing up a ticket for the kitchen. “For the fries, not the Coke.”

“Yeah. Please,” Bucky said gratefully, “I forget I hafta ask for them sometimes.”

“I got you, boo,” Tony said with a wink and put in Bucky’s order. “How’re your classes? Still going?”

“Yeah, I’m still going. I’m glad I scaled it back to just two, though.” Bucky laughed without humor, “I’m a fuckin’ mess… Don’t know what I was thinking when I was talkin’ about taking a full load this semester.”

Tony smiled fondly and poured Bucky’s Coke, “You’re a beautiful disaster. There’s a difference. You want to be fancy with a lemon twist?”

Bucky smiled back, just flicker before his face settled back into it’s resting ‘I murder in my spare time’ expression. “If I’m gonna be fancy, make it lime.”

“Lime it is for my scruffy bae,” Tony grinned and handed over the soda with a lime twist – not just a lime wedge on the rim, leaning on the bar again, “You really don’t mind me flirting with you?”

“Nope. Swear to god it does me good – like maybe you think I’m worth it.” Bucky smiled and stared into his soda for a moment, then sipped. “Anyway, the lime is good – thanks.”

Tony leaned back in mock astonishment, “Have I entered an alternate universe, or did you really just crack a smile?”

Bucky laughed and jabbed the ice in his Coke with the skinny cocktail straw, mumbling, “Whatever, Tony.”

“You don’t seem like you mind too much,” Tony smiled again, leaning on the bar in front of Bucky again, then noticed a few customers. “I’ll be right back.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bucky went back to drinking his soda and let the sounds of the new voices ordering a round of beers fade into the background. He’d spent a lot of time talking with his therapist and sorting out his issues around his military service, though his friends’ concern about his drinking after work and on his days off was what had gotten him to start therapy to begin with.

Through what was nearly a year now of therapy, he could now see that while his drinking hadn’t been causing problems for him _yet_ – even just two beers a day was enough to be considered a problem drinker – it could still cause health issues down the road. And also, Bucky had been using alcohol as a reward for getting up and marching around like a ‘real’ person and avoiding thinking about the emotional issues he had around his time as an army sniper. He could see now the potential for drinking in those circumstances to grow into a much bigger addictive problem.

The cook brought out his order, what they called “The French Nasty” on the menu: French fries topped with sharp cheddar, smoked beef brisket, in-house barbecue sauce, and extra jalapeños, with sour cream on the side for dipping. This was Bucky’s absolute favorite comfort food – something that he and his therapist had separated from the beer that had gone with it in the past.

Separating out his triggers had surprised him. Bucky had expected his therapist to tell him that he couldn’t ever go into a bar again. But his main triggers were loneliness and a fuckton of emotional baggage. Home was where he’d done most of his drinking, so he’d cleaned out his liquor cabinet and stopped buying beer – not even the single bottles that they had at the fancy grocery stores.

He liked being around people, but not necessarily being expected to interact. There was hot food here (though most was not especially healthy, Bucky could identify all its ingredients at least)… and Tony.

Tony… was fantastic. Bucky sighed, watching the man move behind the bar in the mirror. It wasn’t _just_ the tousled hair that looked like it’d feel like silk between his fingers or Tony’s eyes that in the dim light of the bar sometimes reminded him of devil’s food cake, dark and rich and tempting. Not even the guy’s ass, which was so perfect it was probably illegal somewhere.

Bucky had promised himself that tonight he was going to ask Tony out – just something casual – and as he tried to psyche himself up for this, he heard Tony shout. Looking up from his fries, he saw Tony practically launch himself across the bar to awkwardly, but enthusiastically hug the slightly older black man with a careworn face and teasing smile.

“RHODEY! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming, gum drop? I’d have saved you a seat at the bar – they’re the best seats in the house!” Tony was smiling so widely and looked so happy that Bucky tried not to feel too bad about his hopes withering and dying before he’d ever said anything.

“So I can get all that craft beer splashed on me? I don’t think so Tones. Don’t want to spend my night smelling like hops.” ‘Rhodey’ grinned. “It’s good to see you, man! But I’m actually meeting someone here.” ‘Rhodey’ added.

Instead of looking upset though, Tony just looked intrigued (Bucky had forgotten he was trying not to stare), “Oh yeah? This that guy you’ve been talking about? The one that was going to have your car towed?”

Rhodey shook his head, “No, no – the guy who actually towed the car – the one who was so understanding?”

Tony nodded, remembering, “That’s right. So, what can I get for you? Are you trying to impress him sugar bear? This isn’t really the place for that.”

Tony’s friend laughed, “Not exactly Tony - if you like him, he gets to meet my mother. If you hate him, I figure out what’s wrong with me, because as far as I can tell, he’s fantastic,” ‘Rhodey’ smiled softly to himself and Bucky was startled away from his conversation by someone bumping his elbow.

“Hey, Bucky – this the place you’ve been telling me I gotta try?” Sam smiled.

Bucky raised an eyebrow, “Yeah. You checkin’ up on me, Sam?”

“Nope – meeting somebody here, just thought I’d say hello. – And there he is! Jim!” Sam raised his hand and looked down the bar.

Both Tony and Rhodey – Jim? – turned to look at them both and Bucky wanted to dissolve into dust and blow away. But Tony was already dragging his boyfriend? just-a-friend? down to the end of the bar where Sam was standing next to Bucky’s stool.

Bucky tried not to show how nervous he felt. “Hi Tony – this is Sam.”

“Sam? _The_ Sam? ‘Pay up or I’m callin’ the law on you’ Sam?” Tony leaned on the bar in front of Bucky again.

Laughing in spite of himself, Bucky said, “Yeah, the same. Sam, this is Tony.”

“Wow – the man, the myth, the legend – in person.” Sam grinned and reached over to shake Tony’s hand, “Sam Wilson – Bucky’s boss over at the auto shop.”

Tony shook Sam’s hand, “I’ve heard a lot about you – all good, I promise!” He turned to Rhodey, “Bucky, this is Colonel James Rhodes, my Rhodeybear, and the closest I’ve got to family on this mortal coil.”

Rhodes shook Bucky’s hand and chuckled, “Tony and I have known each other since our MIT days, back when he was just a baby Stark.”

Bucky laughed politely and stared back at his fries in shock. Tony didn't just look like Tony Stark, he _was_ Tony Stark, the creative genius that brought the world everything from the Starkphone to alternative energy sources. _Shit._

Tony pulled both Rhodes and Sam beers from the tap. “This is called Festivus, it’s a lightly spiced ale fit for whichever holidays you celebrate this time of year.” He paused, “I wasn’t _that_ young, Rhodey – you make it sound like I was a prodigy or something.”

Rhodes shook his head, incredulous, “Tony, you were fifteen when I met you sophomore year.”

Tony scrunched up his shoulders, “So? It’s not like I was Doogie Howser or something,” he pouted and then shooed Sam and Rhodes away, “Aren’t you two supposed to be here on a date or something? Go – stare deeply into each other’s eyes or something else embarrassing.”

Sam laughed and Rhodes smiled fondly at Tony, “Have it your way then, Tones. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

The couple sniped a table just as another couple left and did, in fact, seem to be chatting while gazing into each other’s eyes. Bucky looked back up at Tony, who shifted uncomfortably.

Tony sighed, “Sorry about all that.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Bucky said, wishing he hadn’t ordered so many fries since his appetite had faded in the last few minutes.

Shrugging, shoulders still scrunched by his ears, Tony said, “All that stuff about my first time in college. I don’t know… it just makes me feel like a freak when he points it out to people. Anyway, Rhodey’s the one who kept saying my stuff was like a work of art,” he rolled his eyes, “And he wondered what I’d make if I was just trying to create art instead of something that had to be functional and marketable.”

Bucky looked down the bar at the couple and thought for a moment before answering, “Guess I’m glad he talked you into it, then. ‘M still just Bucky Barnes.” He paused and wished that he could get that casual, comfortable feeling back. “Say, you still got that end of the semester show coming up?”

Tony nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be showing three pieces. You want to go, maybe? I can put you on the guest list for the swanky opening. It’s a wine reception, but there’s going to be food and probably fizzy water too because artsy people are too extra for ‘still’ water.”

Bucky nodded and decided to muster all his courage right then to ask Tony out – Stark or not – because he’d promised himself he would. He just needed to go through with the asking part – it didn’t have to go anywhere. “D’you think you’d like to go out for dinner somewhere afterwards? Or get a coffee or something?”

Tony stared at him like he’d grown a third eye, then fled to take some other drink orders. _Well, that’s that then._

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Tony glanced back down the bar. If Bucky had asked a few minutes earlier, he wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes. But Bucky hadn’t asked then, only after he’d found out that Tony was _that_ Tony. _How was he going to get through the rest of his shift?_ Bucky wouldn’t start telling people would he? Tony didn’t think so, but honestly, he had trouble judging people. Either he trusted people who didn’t deserve it or pushed people away who did, and he couldn’t tell which was the case right now.

Glancing down the bar though, Bucky was gone. Cash for his bill tucked under his glass. Well, he’d explain when he saw Bucky tomorrow or the next day.

Except Bucky didn’t come back the next day or the day after that. Or any of the days before the show, so when Tony went to the show, wearing a thin gray hoodie under a fitted suit coat with jeans so that he looked suitably artsy, he had no hope Bucky would be there. He shook hands with prominent members of ‘the arts community’ and for the most part went unrecognized because his usual social circles didn’t overlap much with the kind of people buying art at college students’ showings. They had PA’s to do that kind of thing.

“Hi Tony – how are you doing?” Pepper Potts’ voice broke through his daze.

“Shaking a lot of hands and referring to myself by just my first name is starting to grate on my nerves, Pep. Glad you’re here,” Tony replied, and it was true.

Pepper smiled gently, “You looked lost in thought there.”

“Was thinking about PA’s, which brought me back to you, my shining beacon in the darkest nights,” Tony offered her his arm.

Pepper rolled her eyes, but took his arm, and let him show her around. Tony talked about some of the other student’s work, some of which he thought was garbage and others that he thought were either really well-executed or he liked its creator.

Then he saw Bucky following around an athletic, redhead with a chin length bob.

Tony pulled Pepper behind a large ceramic jug – large enough for either one of them to stand inside. “Shh!”

“Who are we hiding from Tony?” Pepper asked, unsure if she should be entertained or calling for help.

“We’re not hiding, we’re avoiding that guy over there. The brunette,” Tony hissed. “Don’t look!”

Pepper looked and sighed, “Tony, the room is filled with men with brown hair. Does this particular man have any distinguishing features?”

“Unfairly gorgeous and eyes like a storm swept sea,” Tony said without hesitation.

After a brief, but withering glance over her shoulder at him, she peeked out again, “I don’t see anyone like tha- Oh… hel _lo_ … Do you mean the tall guy over there? He doesn’t look like he’s having much fun.”

“He’s here with somebody else is the point. He asked me out after Rhodey blabbed about who I am,” Tony said, huffing with impatience. He didn’t see the point in explaining that Bucky had avoided _him_ for the last twelve and a half days because it didn’t matter anyway since Bucky was here with someone else.

Tony opened his mouth to continue his complaining, but Pepper was busy striding across the floor, walking up to Bucky. Tony thought he might die.

From the short distance, he heard Pepper say, “Hi! I’m sorry, you must get this all the time, but you look really familiar to me – have we met?”

Bucky replied slowly, “Um… no. Don’t think so… Sorry,” and tried to edge away. The effort was foiled when the woman with red hair came back.

Red, as Tony thought of her, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure. Is this the person you were telling me about? Why don’t you introduce us, James?”

Before Bucky could say anything, Pepper smiled, “Hi – Pepper Potts. No, I don’t think so. I just made a fool of myself. I thought I knew him. He looks familiar.” She shrugged, “So sorry to interrupt your evening.”

The woman smiled and Tony shivered – it was a sharp, dangerous thing that ended in a light laugh, “You’re not interrupting anything. I’m Natasha,” Natasha said and shook Pepper’s hand. “James is my soul brother and was my commanding officer overseas. He told me he’s got a friend who’s an art student here who invited him to the show, but when James asked if he wanted to get coffee after, he wouldn’t give him the time of day.”

“Nat, that’s enough, c’mon. There’s only a couple more rooms left. I just wanna see what his art looks like and then we can go. Please?” Bucky spoke softly, but Tony was used to listening to him through more noise than there was in the gallery.

Natasha frowned, though, “You’d think that being a decorated veteran would be enough. Just because James lost an arm over there doesn’t make him any less of a catch. Especially with that swanky prosthetic arm from Stark Industries.” Natasha shook her head, clearly deeply annoyed on Bucky’s behalf.

Tony sat down, back to the ceramic jug.

Pepper said, “Can I get you a glass of wine from the canape table?”

“No thanks,” Bucky mumbled.

“I’d love one,” Natasha replied, smiling again, this time coy and come-hither. “Do you mind if I tag along?”

“Not at all,” Pepper said with an answering smile.

 _Huh, how about that._ Barnes with an SI prosthetic? _James Barnes?_ With a swanky SI prosthetic arm? Tony thought the name sounded familiar… an arm? Tony’s fingers flew over the screen of his Starkphone. Oh… _him – that_ Barnes. The Army Sergeant who’d lost his arm when he picked up a live grenade and threw it back toward the enemy and had saved the lives of a bunch of the troops under his command, later awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star.

Now that Tony thought about it, Bucky always wore a glove on one hand. Tony had never really thought about it much since it wasn’t the strangest thing he’d seen somebody wearing in the bar. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice Bucky had moved and was coming his way.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bucky sighed as Natasha strolled away with Pepper. She never had trouble finding company when she wanted it. He knew that Tony was in the fine arts program, but he wasn’t quite sure what kind of art Tony made. What kind of art would a genius engineering prodigy make? Apparently, nothing in this room.

A waiter handed him a clear plastic cup full of wine and hurried away to serve other guests. Bucky stared at the cup for a moment, then walked around the giant ceramic jug in the middle of the wide hallway and almost fell over Tony sitting on the floor. “Tony?”

“Buck! Bucky!” Tony smooshed his phone to his chest. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Sorry – I’ll just go,” Bucky gestured helplessly, “Not stalking you, I swear.”

“What? I didn’t think that,” Tony scrambled up. “I wanted to explain, but you left and didn’t come back.”

Shrugging, Bucky said, “Doesn’t matter. I can take a hint. You don’t need to explain anything Tony.” Bucky laughed without humor, “Christ, I’m wearin’ the arm you made for me and I didn’t know you were _that_ Tony.”

Tony tried to force his shoulders down from where they were trying to scrunch up by his ears again, “I didn’t know you were the Barnes I made the arm for.” Tony glanced at the cup, “Is that on purpose or overzealous waiters in action?”

“Waiter… I, uh… don’t know what to do with it,” Bucky mumbled. “There’s nowhere to set it down.”

“I could… if it’s not too weird,” Tony offered.

Bucky handed the cup to Tony, “No weirder than the rest of this. Listen Tony, I appreciate the assist, but I’ll get outta your hair now. I gotta go find the friend that I came with.”

“Pepper’s a friend of mine,” Tony blurted. “She’s my PA, Personal Assistant. I didn’t know she’d be here. I mean, she probably told me and I forgot.” Tony stammered and when his phone buzzed, he jumped.

“You okay?” Bucky asked, concerned.

“Yeah. Yeah,” Tony took a deep breath, “Before you try to escape again, I could show you the pieces I’m showing. Just pretend we’re just Bucky and Tony again for a little while?”

Tony studied Bucky’s face as the man made up his mind. “Yeah, all right,” Bucky finally decided.

“Great! They’re over here,” Tony said, eager to show off his work to Bucky. Most of it had been inspired by things Bucky had told him at the bar over the last year that they’d gotten to know each other. He’d made them while thinking about Bucky, but now reflecting on them, several of the pieces applied to his life as well. “Just don’t read my bio, please. It’s embarrassing.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bucky let Tony guide him into the next room. Tony seemed both a bundle of anxiety and excitement tonight. _Just pretend we’re just Bucky and Tony again._ Had that much changed between them? Maybe it had. He didn’t want to accept a date with Tony just because Tony felt sorry for him.

“Over here, this one is the first one,” Tony said and pointed to a sculpture that looked like he’d somehow stopped time around an exploding bomb with sand and stones – and torn pieces of paper – flying up into the air above it. “I asked the campus veterans’ group to help me write the notes here. They knew it was for an art project,” he added hastily.

Bucky read some of the fragments, ‘I didn’t know,’ ‘no idea what to really expect,’ ‘seemed like an awful place to die.’ He saw that the title of the piece was, _Bombshell._

Then he read Tony’s description of his inspiration for the sculpture, ‘I was inspired by a friend who told me that when he first went into combat, he had no idea what to expect or what it would really feel like. I thought about what that experience might have been like and this is my interpretation.’

Bucky glanced over at Tony. There had been one time he’d had a bad night and talked to Tony about his time overseas, but this couldn’t be about _him_ – that would just be flattering himself. Tony had his hands shoved in his pockets and was rocking back and forth on his toes.

“So, uh… what do you think?” Tony asked, sounding nervous.

Bucky shook his head, at a bit of a loss what to say, “It’s …fantastic. Really powerful. How did you get all those little pieces to stay up in the air like that?”

“A combination of 3D printing and working with epoxy,” Tony said with a shrug. “Not a big deal.”

They moved around the room to a snow shovel at an angle, scooping broken beer and liquor bottles. Affixed to the handle were nine colored metal discs. Tony pointed, “This one’s mine too… those are my sobriety tokens from the last five years. I just called it ‘Recovery’ ‘cause I couldn’t think of a clever title and it took a lot out of me.”

“How come you never said anything?” Bucky asked.

Tony shrugged, “I – It’s not like I was keeping it a secret, but you know, sometimes it’s not helpful to keep hearing, ‘if I did it, you can too.’ Sorry if it feels like I was hiding it from you.”

“Your my bartender, not my boyfriend. You don’t hafta share that kind of thing with me,” Bucky answered after a short pause. “I mean, you’re entitled to your boundaries.”

A smile snuck up on Tony, “Is that you or your therapist talking?”

Bucky laughed, “A little of both maybe? She’ll be so proud I’m applying the ideas we’ve been talking about in session to real life.”

Working up his nerve, Tony asked, “Are you coming back to the bar?”

Bucky looked surprised, “You want me to come back? After getting turned down like that, I figured it’d be weird if I kept showing up. I’m no stalker.”

Unconsciously, Tony reached for Bucky’s hand, “I panicked. I thought maybe you were just asking because Rhodey outed my not-really-secret identity. But when I looked, you were gone… and then you didn’t come back.”

The forlorn note in Tony’s voice didn’t escape Bucky, “You missed me?” He sounded more surprised than smooth, he thought, and he gave Tony’s hand an involuntary squeeze.

“Yeah,” Tony looked down. “When you show up at the bar is the highlight of my day.”

Bucky could feel his face flush, “Yeah? I missed you too. I been bothering all my other friends – like Nat – and makin’ a nuisance of myself.”

“Impossible. Everything you do is adorable,” Tony replied without missing a beat, sounding so much like the over the bar flirting that Bucky realized 1) they were holding hands and 2) that maybe Tony’d meant some of those things he’d said while flirting.

When Bucky looked up, Tony was blushing too. “Not true, believe me,” but Bucky sounded happy, rather than totally self-deprecating. “Anyway, you said you were showing three pieces? Where’s the other one?”

Tony’s eyes lit up, “I really hope you like it – it’s the one that took the longest ‘cause I did it all by hand.”

Dragging Bucky by the hand this time, Tony brought him to another sculpture of two androgynous people holding hands. One was made of different types of wire – bronze, copper, steel – with large areas of negative space. The other was made of pieces of tumbled glass wire-wrapped together to form a fragile, almost lacy, human figure. Where the two figures touched, though, they took on aspects of the other. Larger pieces of tumbled glass, polished stones and driftwood filled in some of the negative spaces in the first sculpture. In the second, the wire-wrapping became more robust and the glass was replaced by pieces of polished metal.

“I called it _Stronger Together_ ,” Tony explained.

“’Cause each can stand on their own,” Bucky added.

“But they’d be missing out if they went through life alone,” Tony finished.

Reading the artist’s inspiration description on the piece’s card, Bucky felt shocked, ‘I used my own experiences as a foundation for this piece, but most of the inspiration came from a muse who walked into my life at a job I never thought I’d have and has gone on to make my world brighter just from being in it.’

Bucky tried to contain the hope fluttering in his chest. This was definitely not a piece created out of pity, assuming _he_ was that muse. “So about that coffee… you thirsty maybe?”

Tony smiled back, “I thought maybe I lost my chance.”

“Nah… it was just a really awkward rain check,” Bucky said with a grin.

“Then, yes, absolutely,” Tony squeezed Bucky’s hand and hesitated for a second then leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “I really hoped we’d… I just didn’t want to put any pressure on you.”

“You didn’t,” Bucky squeezed Tony’s hand back and then put his arm around Tony’s waist as they walked toward the exit. “So… who’s this muse of yours? Anybody I know?”

Tony elbowed him, “You’re such a troll, Buckyboo.”

“I told you I’m a nuisance. You had fair warning, sweetheart. You brought this on yourself,” he laughed, as the last of the anxiety he’d felt about his crush on Tony evaporated.

**Author's Note:**

> Bucky’s therapist uses cognitive behavioral therapy with him as well as other therapies to help address his PTSD-like trauma. He avoids situations that are triggering for him and is learning and practicing better coping strategies for him. He preferred a non-religious/spiritual therapy/treatment, so that’s why there’s no talk about 12-step programs here. It’s not anything other than that. This treatment works for a lot of people and it’s something Bucky was able to get onboard with. I got some information from https://www.alcohol.org/alcoholics-anonymous/alternatives-to-the-aa-approach/. For background on positive coping skills, I used https://youmemindbody.com/mental-health/Coping-Strategies-Skills-List-Positive-Negative-Anger-Anxiety-Depression-Copers.


End file.
